Cross Training Questions

I need to know if cross country training is helping me for sprinting?

I am primarily a baseball player (outfield), but i have started doing cross country in the fall. I need to know if all this long distance training will help me for doing sprints during tryouts and for games...running down batted balls, stealing bases, running bases etc... if this isnt going to help me for baseball i want to do something in the winter that will help me prepare for baseball.

Public Comments

1. yes, it should help you . . you might want to do some interval work to help with sprinting once or twice a week.
2. I don't know that it that it will help your sprint but running hills may. Also try basketball or hockey for the winter that will help yur sprints.
3. cross country is great for any athlete looking to stay in shape and prepare for the season. It won't exactly help with sprints but it will give you endurance so you can sprint longer, not necessarily faster. To be faster you have to practice fast, do sprints after XC practice.
4. Get a 100 foot bungee jumping rope. Tie one end to you and another end to a tree or something. With a friend, pull yourself as far away from the tree as possible so that the rope is so tight that when you let go, you are forced to run really fast towards the tree. This will force you to run faster. Or, find a very tall hill, run down it, run back up, run down it again. The hill must be 1/2 mile or so and very steep.
5. Not really, sprinting and running are two different things. I am a cross country runner and am not fast in a sprint put over a mile or two outrun the people who are "fast" on the foot ball team. Your muscles pretty much work in two different ways, twitch and endurance. Running cross country you will gain endurance but may not get any faster.
6. It helps with endurance so you can keep up your speed.
7. YES Stamina
8. Not really. You get endurance, but every good baseball player knows the most you'd really need is enough to chug to second. triples exist, but you can survive with the endurance to sprint 180' to get to 3rd, triples are usually because of poorly fielded balls and are usually taken standing up with a second or so before the throw gets in. Stick to running sprints in the winter to keep up your speed.